After two decades of dominance, where does Sidney Crosby rank among the NHL’s greatest players?

Early in his career, Crosby matched Gretzky as a teenage league MVP and scoring champion. He topped Gretzky as the youngest player to captain a Stanley Cup winner. But the direct comparisons stopped. The seismic gap in scoring environments and injuries abbreviating his prime years eliminated any connection to #99 outside of the subjective title of “game’s best player.”

But the point-per-game season record has reunited the pair in a fresh and meaningful way.

The Past

“This thing is running us over and we’re not stopping it. Players are continually having to retire because of head injuries. You have to put a stop to it. God forbid if it’s Sidney Crosby next.”
— Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, February 2011

It was New Years Day, 2011.

Crosby was playing the best hockey anyone had witnessed since his former landlord, Mario Lemieux, a decade earlier. Fresh off his first Rocket Richard Trophy, Crosby had incinerated the league — 32 goals and 65 points in 39 games. At age 23, he was invincible. Until he wasn’t.

A collision with Washington’s David Steckel at the Winter Classic had dangerous consequences. Over the next two-and-a-half years, Crosby would play only 59 games.

Because he’s played so long and at such a high level since, it’s easy to forget this precarious time in Crosby’s life and career. But from a hockey perspective, his future was touch and go. Yet, despite the uncertainty and setbacks, the three-year period also reflects the pinnacle of Crosby’s production.

Incredibly, these three partial seasons, interrupted by concussion-like symptoms, the fear of the next hit ending his career, was Peak Crosby. It’s a period largely lost to history, injuries and a lockout preventing any meaningful totals. But over 99 games from 2010-13 — placed in today’s NHL scoring climate — Crosby produced at an 82-game clip of 51 goals, 97 assists, 148 points.

Conservatively, he lost 200 points from his career tally in those three years alone. Yet, here we are more than a decade later, and the body of work leaps off the page.

Unlike Gretzky before him and Connor McDavid today, Crosby’s résumé has major “what-if” vibes.

Still, providing proper context by adjusting to era, Crosby has the fourth-most points in NHL history. An impressive feat, but it’s the efficiency that’s equally impactful. He’s banked points at such extreme volume, yet he’s delivered them at a rate topped only by Gretzky and Lemieux among players with 900+ games.

Despite a prime derailed by injury, only The Great One has been both more productive than and as efficient as Crosby as a scorer.

The Future

“Sid’s going to be the one-in-a-billion for me because there’s no one to compare him to. It’s what he did at 18 and what he’s doing at 36, and what he might do at 46.”
— Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, February 2024

So, where does Crosby rank today among the greatest players in NHL history?

Three seasons ago, The Hockey News ranked Crosby #5 all-time, behind Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Lemieux, and Gordie Howe. Two seasons ago, The Athletic ranked all post-1967 players, placing Crosby #4, behind Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr. Howe, an Original Six era star, was before their cutoff.

We’ll concede Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr in whichever order you like. But that’s where the fun begins.

I’ve yet to see a comprehensive list that places a goaltender or non-Orr defenseman ahead of Crosby. And while I’ll make time to hear the underappreciated cases of Nicklas Lidstrom, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy, or Dominik Hasek, it’s forwards that pose the greatest threat to Crosby’s standing.

From exhaustive research in recent years, these are the four forwards with a legitimate case:

Gordie Howe

• The Case: Six MVPs. Six scoring titles. 21 year-end all-star nods in a 22-season span. A nasty, awe-inspiring, ageless warrior on the ice and a gentleman and hero to multiple generations off it.
• The Question: With full respect to history, can a player who thrived in an all-Canadian league and debuted just after World War II be ranked ahead of Crosby?
  

Jaromir Jagr

• The Case: Five scoring titles in seven years, including four consecutive. The stylish, game-breaking face of European influence after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Seventh in MVP voting at age 44.
• The Question: Can a player with a mid-career dip, KHL sabbatical, and 22 straight seasons without a Cup hang in Crosby’s company?
  

Alex Ovechkin

• The Case: Whether he breaks Gretzky’s goals record or not, he’s the greatest goal-scorer ever. Nine 50-goal seasons in a low-offense era. A physical, unstoppable, bulletproof force.
• The Question: Does Ovechkin’s unmatched sniping prowess stack up to his contemporary Crosby’s well-rounded game and team accomplishments?
  

Connor McDavid

• The Case: Five scoring titles and three MVPs in his first eight seasons. A modern day 64-goal, 153-point season. An electrifying, physics-defying blur as highly evolved as any athlete in any sport.
• The Question: Just 643 games into his career and absent a Stanley Cup Final appearance, can a 27-year-old be rewarded with such a prestigious lifetime ranking?
  

From my point of view, the answer to all four questions above is No.

By PPS, my comprehensive Hall of Fame worthiness metric, Crosby ranks third among forwards. But a single figure — even an all-inclusive, era-contextualized one — should only serve as a starting point in heated debates.

Yet, Crosby’s case for all-time status is equally larger than life beyond the numbers.

Junior hockey stardom. Unprecedented draft hype. Youngest Cup-winning captain. The Golden Goal. Concussion comebacks. Captain of Sochi 2014. Captaining back-to-back Cups in the salary cap era, featuring dual Conn Smythes. World Cup MVP. 201 playoff points, topped only by Oilers’ dynasty members. Triple Gold club. The tireless face of the NHL for two decades.

In terms of influence, Crosby’s also defined the modern superstar. The best player in the world grinding in the corners? Tipping pucks in front of the net? Working on minor deficiencies in the offseason? Leading unparalleled off-season workouts? Permanently available and perpetually kind for post-game interviews?

This was not the norm before Crosby arrived. It’s become the standard.

Sorry, Mr. Hockey, Jags, Ovie, and Connor.

On the ice and off the ice, Sid’s the #4 player in NHL history.

Follow @AdjustedHockey on X; Data from Hockey-Reference.com, NHL.com